This invention relates generally to log splitters. In particular, the present invention relates to a hydraulically powered log splitter attachment for a skid steer loader.
Many people are unaware of the wide-ranging capabilities of a skid steer loader. While mainly used for digging and moving materials, there are many auxiliary products and attachments that perform a variety of useful functions. There are currently specialized attachments for digging, drilling, transporting materials, snow removal, and much more. However, a log splitting attachment is not commonly available.
Stand alone log splitters are common among people who use or produce firewood, and skid steer loaders are very popular because they are useful for all types of construction work. However, there has not been a significant effort to combine the functionality of these two products. The obvious advantage of this combination is that it would be more efficient and cost-effective than using two separate machines. An additional advantage is that it allows the user to easily move the log splitter to various areas where logs are stored rather than hauling logs from different locations to a single location where the log splitter is used.
While log splitting attachments for skid steer loaders are rare, log splitting attachments for backhoes and tractors are known. In fact, many devices have been produced combining log splitters with backhoes. Backhoes are better suited for this combination, as the dipper stick is often used to support a base for holding wood and a splitting member may be attached directly to the backhoe's free hydraulic piston. When the hydraulic piston extends, it presses the attached splitting member against and through the timber. Some devices using this arrangement are proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,325, U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,385, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,231.
Other devices have combined log splitters with backhoes in different ways. U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,549 uses the backhoe's dipper stick to move a piece of wood horizontally to a wedge assembly. U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,367 uses the backhoe's hydraulic power to operate log-splitting pincers mounted at the end of the dipper stick. U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,995 uses a grab at the end of the backhoe's dipper stick to maneuver timber to a severing means mounted on the backhoe. The backhoe is then driven toward a rock wall or similar object, forcing the timber along the severing means. The device in U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,141 mounts to a boom to split wood horizontally. These are all incompatible with skid steer loaders, which do not have dipper sticks or booms.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,255 connects to a garden tiller and uses a spiral auger splitting head to split wood. U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,960 mounts to a larger tractor and is powered by the tractor's top link turn buckle. While these devices are assumably effective for their intended purposes, they are incompatible with skid steer loaders.
While the prior devices concentrate heavily on log splitter attachments for backhoes and tractors, they fail to take advantage of the inherent mobility and rough-terrain capabilities of the skid steer loader. The few log splitter attachments that are intended for skid steer loaders, however, also have disadvantages. U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,547, for example, is horizontally oriented and provides little advantage over conventional wood splitters. Its horizontal orientation requires a large space for storage and makes the skid steer loader less mobile in wooded areas where the wood splitting is likely to occur.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a hydraulically powered log splitter attachment for a skid steer loader that is mobile, effective, easy to use, and fully compatible with and easy to attach to the skid steer loader.